16th c. French military commander
Francois II de Hangest, Seigneur de Genlis
, bailli & capitaine d'Evreux. (born unknown, died 1569) was a French military commander, notable for his roles during the
French Wars of Religion
.
In historic texts, he is often named simply Genlis or Jenlis. Such texts often do not mention his death, in 1569, and continue to use the same name to mean his younger brother
Jean de Hangest, seigneur d'Yvoy
.
[1]
Family
[
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Although many texts mention fewer brothers, his parents, Adrien de Hangest and Francoise du Mas (daughter of Sr de l’Ille-Bannejon),
[2]
had five sons:
- Jean, who became
Bishop of Noyon
in 1532 and died in 1577.
[3]
- Francois, seigneur de Genlis.
- Claude, who became Abbot of
Saint-Eloi de Noyon
.
John Calvin
dedicated his first published work, the Seneca Commentary, to Claude.
[4]
- Louis, sometimes referred to as Young Genlis (French: Jeune Genlis), who distinguished himself at the
Battle of Ceresole
and died defending the town of Chalons in 1544
[3]
- Jean, seigneur d'Yvoy, who as a Protestant became a principal lieutenant of Admiral de Coligny, in 1562 defended for 20 days but lost the town of Bourges.
[3]
None of the brothers had children.
During their youth,
John Calvin
often visited the Chateau of Genlis and the brothers.
[3]
(Chateau de Montmort)
Military career
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Like his father, Francois Genlis had a military career, initially in service of
King Henry II of France
. 14 April 1543 he was appointed Captain of the
Louvre
. In 1560,
King Francois II
made Francois Genlis a knight of the order of Saint-Michel, along with Crevecoeur and d’Humieres. In October 1557, the Spanish occupied
Chauny
. In a battle nearby, along with the French garrison of
La Fere
, Francois Genlis commanded a cavalry company against the Spanish.
[3]
After converting to Calvinism, Francois Genlis became Colonel-General for the
Protestant “parti des religionaires”
, which his brother Jean, seigneur d'Yvoy, also joined. At the
Battle of Saint-Denis
(10 November 1567), Francois Genlis commanded the right wing of the Protestant army and led a cavalry charge.
[5]
Also in 1567, he took the towns of
Bray
(with a ransom of 10,000 ecus),
Chauny
,
Courcy
,
Vailly
and
Bruyeres
, then with the support of Bouchavesnes, the towns of
Harccourt
and
Crecy
. 27 September 1567, he sacked
Soissons
.
[3]
In 1568, Francois Genlis raised a dozen cornetts of cavalry and 2,000 harquebusiers to join the
Prince of Orange
in the
Battle of le Quesnoy
.
Francois Genlis died in 1569. Most texts repeat the line that he probably died in
Strasbourg
of “la rage” which today would translate as of rabies, but it could mean in despair as he had gone badly into debt funding that last unsuccessful military campaign. Other texts state that he contracted a hot fever during a siege and died on 14 February 1569 at
Chateau de Besarbre or Bergzabern Palace
, which belonged to
Wolfgang, the Duc de Deux-Ponts, Count Palatine of Zweibrucken
.
[6]
Aftermath
[
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]
After the death of Francois, the family was heavily in debt, and they had to sell the lands and title to
Pierre Brulart
.
Jean, seigneur d'Yvoy, the youngest brother used the name Genlis until his death in 1572.
References
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]
- ^
Histoire des Francais depuis le temps des Gaulois jusqu'en 1830, Volume 2 Theophile Lavallee Paulin, 1838 ? France
- ^
Histoire de la Maison Royale de France, et des grands officiers de la Couronne By Anselme de Sainte-Marie. 1674 Loyson
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Comptes-Rendus et Memoires Lus aux Seances, Tome 7 Comite Archeologique et Historique de Noyon 1885 Gaston Andrieux Noyon
- ^
Calvin's commentary on Seneca's De clementia / with introd., transl., and notes by Ford Lewis Battles and Andre Malan Hugo - Ford Lewis Battles, Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Brill Archive, 1969
- ^
La poesie francaise et les guerres de religion, 1560-1574; etude historique et litteraire sur la poesie militante depuis la conjuration d'Amboise jusqu'a la mort de Charles IX by Charbonnier, F Publication date 1919
- ^
Histoire universelle, Issue 243 Agrippa d' Aubigne Librairie Renouard, H. Laurens, succ., 1889 ? Europe